Mouthpiece for wind instruments.



No 799,730; PATENTED SEPT. 19, 1905.

L. 0. HANSON.

MOUTHPIEGE FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS. APPLICATION rmm rm. :7, 1905.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1905.

Application filed February 27, 1905- Serial No. 247,409.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUDWIG O. HANSON, residing in Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful'lmprovements in Mouthpieces for Wind Instruments, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to mouthpieces for wind instruments of the trumpet or horn type, such as the bugle, cornet, French horn, euphonium, trombone, &c., and has for its object to obviate the indirect wind-passage in such mouthpieces by .providing a wind passage which will be in direct line with the flow of air from the mouth of the performer to the wind-passage of the instrument.

The distinctive feature of the invention is its wind passage formation, wherein the throat has its upper wall in direct alinement with the upper wall of the bowl.

It is quite generally understood and ad mitted by most performers of the cornet that when playing, especially in the upper register, the tendency is to blow toward the top of the bowl of the mouthpiece. Consequently in mouthpieces as at present constructed much energy is wasted on account of friction caused by the column of air striking the walls of the bowl or cup before entering the outlet or throat, thereby necessitating more pressure on the upper lip and overtaxing and weakening the embouchure to such an extent that partial paralysis of the seventh pair of nerves frequently results.

This invention is designed to overcome these objections by providing a throat which extends in a direct line between the vibrating upper lip of the performer and the wind-passage of the instrument.

WViththe above and other objects in view the invention consists in the mouthpiece of the construction herein shown and described and the equivalents thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mouthpiece for wind instruments constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view thereof.

In the drawings the mouthpiece is shown to be-provided with the usual tapering stem 4 for fitting into the wind instrument and a bowlor cup 5 on its end against which the lips of the performer are pressed during the operation of the instrument, the external s ape of the mouthpiece being symmetrical and similar to mouthpieces of the usual construction. The internal construction of the mouthpiece, however, instead of having a horizontal throat leading from the central portion of the bowl, as usual, has the flaring throat 6, arranged on an incline, so that it leads from the uppermost portion of the bowl, which is made with a straight up er wall 7 to aline with the u per wall of the t oat 6, the other walls of the bowl being curved to the junction of the throat therewith instead of being symmetrical in shape. In a mouthpiece with a wind-passage of this construction the upper wall of the throat being in direct alinement with the upper wall of the bowl and forming a continuous wall therewith, the throat is on a straight line from the vibrating upper lip of the performer to the wind-passage of the instrument, so there is no deflecting-wall in the path of the air, and consequently less air-pressure is necessary to produce a large tone, and the softest whisper will not be lost by reflection, but will be reproduced as clear as other tones. On account of the ease in producing the tone and manipulating the instrument as the result of the direct wind-passage of this mouthpiece the performer is assured a clearer and better quality of tone, as well as a perfect intonation of the instrument.

It is not to be understood that this invention relates merely to the connection of the throat at one side of the center of the bowl,

but it is also necessary that such throat should have one of its walls in direct alinement with a wall of the bowl, so that the two may have a common straight wall, and the throat may therefore extend in a straight line from the vibrating upper lip of the performer to the wind-passage of the instrument.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. Amouthpiece for wind instruments having its throat connecting with its bowl at the extreme edge of the bowl, with a wall of the throat in alinement with a wall of the bowl.

2. Amouthpiece for wind instruments having the usual symmetrical external shape and having its flaring throat inclined and connected with the bowl at one side of said bowl, the bowl being provided with a straight wall on that side in direct alinement with a wall of the throat and the other walls thereof curving toward the junction of the throat with vibrating upper lip of the performer and the 10 the bowl. wind-passage of t e instrument.

3. Arnouthpiece for Wind instruments haV- In testimony whereof I afliX my signature ing a bowl with its upper wall straight and in presence of two witnesses. its other Walls converging thereto, and the throat extending from the bowl with its up- LUDWIG HANSON per wall in direct alinement with the straight Witnesses: wall of the bowl, so that said throat forms an A. L. MoRsELL,

unobstructed direct connection between the ANNA F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

